The first day of school often brings a whirlwind of changes, and for many families, that means rethinking back-to-school skin care.
Whether you’re sending your kids off to the classroom or heading back to college yourself, the shift in routine can affect your skin.
Both moms and students may notice more blemishes, redness, or irritation at this time of year. For students, the mix of changing hormones, stress, late nights, and sports activities can cause skin problems. For parents, the added workload of school routines, carpools, and homework can bring on adult-sized skin challenges.
If you or your child has sensitive or compromised skin, the back-to-school season can be even more frustrating. Add environmental factors like dry classroom air and lingering summer heat, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for breakouts and irritation.
Below, we have some tips on how to make back-to-school skin care work for you.
Back-to-School Skin Care: The Stress-Skin Connection
Going back to school creates a significant change in routine and stress levels. Whether you’re a parent juggling work and school schedules or a student adapting to demanding coursework, these changes can trigger a slew of responses that directly impact the health of your skin.
When we experience stress, the body releases a stress hormone called “cortisol.” Higher levels of this hormone in the body stimulate the sebaceous glands in the skin to produce more oil, creating an ideal environment for acne-causing bacteria to thrive.
Stress also compromises the skin’s outer barrier function, making the skin more vulnerable to irritation and inflammation. Chronic stress often disrupts sleep patterns, and poor sleep quality further exacerbates skin problems. During deep sleep, the skin undergoes crucial repair processes, but when sleep is compromised, the skin doesn’t have the time or resources to properly take care of itself. This can cause dull, congested, and more reactive skin.
Back-to-School Hormonal Fluctuations
Hormonal fluctuations aren’t limited to teenagers. While puberty-related increases in androgens are known for triggering oil production and breakouts, hormone shifts can happen at any age, especially during times of stress or disrupted routines.
For students, puberty and young adulthood often bring an uptick in testosterone for both boys and girls. In girls, estrogen levels rise during puberty, but androgens like testosterone can also increase. In boys, testosterone production surges significantly. These hormones stimulate skin oil production. That excess oil mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria, clogging pores and fueling acne.
For parents, shifting schedules and stress can cause a spike in cortisol, which may affect other hormones and disrupt skin balance. Women may also experience cycle-related oiliness or breakouts during certain weeks of the month.
When hormones boost oil production, clogged pores may result, particularly if makeup, sunscreen, or sports gear traps sweat and bacteria against the skin.
Back-to-school skin care tip
Use a gentle, sulfate-free cleanser to remove excess oil without stripping the skin barrier. Cleanse twice a day, plus one extra time if you’ve been sweating heavily, such as after gym class, sports practice, or on a hot day. Then make sure you and your students are choosing non-clogging sunscreens, moisturizers, and makeup. Finally, keep your hands off your face at all times, as touching transfers dirt and bacteria, which can lead to more breakouts.
Stress-Induced Inflammation and Back-to-School Skin Care
The start of a new school year brings on its share of stress. When cortisol levels climb, inflammation often results. If you have sensitive skin, stress may also increase eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis flare-ups.
Back-to-school skin care tip
It isn’t realistic to think we can completely eliminate stress. Instead, focus on strengthening your skin’s resilience. Choose products with anti-inflammatory ingredients like calendula, chamomile, and oat extract to help calm the skin and tame redness.
Our CV Skinlabs Rescue + Relief Spray is the perfect answer to this time of year. It offers instant, no-touch calming for overheated, irritated, red, or stressed skin. It also works well to calm acne redness and inflammation. Plus, it’s non-comedogenic, so it won’t clog pores. Use it right after sports, during study sessions, or even mid-workday to calm and moisturize skin.
Ingredient Sensitivity: A Hidden Back-to-School Skin Care Saboteur
When breakouts appear, it’s tempting to reach for strong acne products with benzoyl peroxide or high doses of salicylic acid. While these can be effective, they’re also known irritants, particularly for sensitive or compromised skin.
Overusing harsh products like this can strip away the natural oils that protect your skin and weaken the outer barrier, making skin more prone to redness and breakouts in the long term. They may also cause peeling, dryness, and discomfort.
You will want to try and avoid products with toxic chemicals that might be linked to negative health effects, like endocrine disruption and hormone dysregulation. Phthalates, for example, are a known hormone disruptor.
Back-to-school skin care tip
Swap out overly harsh treatments for gentler options like willow bark extract (a natural source of salicylic acid), niacinamide, or zinc. Always pair treatments with a barrier-repairing moisturizer like our non-toxic CV Skinlabs Calming Moisture. It’s lightweight so it won’t clog your pores, but it’s deeply hydrating, making it perfect under makeup or for soothing skin after acne treatments.
Sports, Sweat, and Friction: An Overlooked Back-to-School Skin Care Concern
Fall sports can be great for physical fitness, but they can also be hard on the skin. Helmets, chin straps, pads, and tight uniforms can create “acne mechanica,” which refers to breakouts caused by heat, sweat, and friction.
Sweaty gear that isn’t regularly washed can also harbor bacteria, while trapped moisture and heat create the perfect conditions for clogged pores and rashes.
Back-to-school skin care tip
Shower or cleanse skin as soon as possible after practice, workouts, or games. Use a non-stripping cleanser to remove sweat and bacteria. Spray exposed areas like the face, chest, and back with CV Skinlabs Rescue + Relief Spray for cooling and calming relief. Follow with our Body Repair Lotion to moisturize and soothe irritated skin. Then try to remember to frequently wash uniforms and gear.
If you’re struggling with gear-induced rashes or redness, try our Restorative Skin Balm on the affected area overnight. It’s designed to coat skin and create a soothing barrier to trap in moisture, accelerating healing while calming inflammation.
Calming Flare-Ups in Your Back-to-School Skin Care Routine
When your skin is already inflamed, skip the temptation to pile on treatments. Instead, focus on calming and protecting your skin barrier.
Start with moisturizing products that include aloe, cucumber, or bisabolol to calm redness and encourage healing. (CV Skinlabs products were created for those with sensitive and reactive skin and sensitive skin conditions like eczema, rosacea and dermatitis.) T
hen stick to a simple, gentle routine morning and night. Over-cleansing or switching products too often can backfire.
Back-to-school skin care tip
Try this:
- Morning: Gentle cleanser, lightweight moisturizer (Calming Moisture), sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide)
- After sports or gym: Rinse/cleanse, Rescue + Relief Spray
- Evening: Gentle cleanser, Calming Moisture
When Back-to-School Skin Care Needs a Dermatologist
If you or your student suffers from severe, painful, or stubborn breakouts, consider making an appointment with a certified dermatologist. Professional guidance can help you decide whether you may want to try hormonal therapy, prescription treatments, or specialized products. (Be sure to double-check the ingredients to make sure whatever you use won’t harm your skin or make reactions worse.)
By understanding how hormones, stress, ingredients, and sports can affect your skin, you can make smart adjustments to your back-to-school skin care routine. Choosing gentle, clinically proven products like CV Skinlabs Calming Moisture, Rescue + Relief Spray, Body Repair Lotion, and Restorative Skin Balm helps keep skin healthy and calm through the school year’s ups and downs.
Do you struggle with back-to-school breakouts?
Featured image by KamranAydinov via Freepik.
